Hi guys,
I'm looking for some advice. What was supposed to be a quick and easy job has turned into almost a half a day effort without an end in sight.

All I'm trying to do is get the turbo oil return pipe back in place. The top end of it connects to the underside of the turbo with a gasket (no issue) and the bottom end connects to the middle of the block on the backside below the turbo. You feed the o-ring onto the oil return pipe and then (apparently) push it back in the hole in the block until it seats...well, I can't get mine in and seat. I'm able to push it in about 3/8" but the second I let go...it slowly pops back out. I'm assuming that once it's seated it does not pop back out by itself, right?

Any ideas?

 

Put some grease on it. Put the o-ring side in first.

 

This is literally the one automotive job I have ever given up on. The access to the turbo return tube on my 2000 V40 was so poor I decided it wasn't worth the effort. Cleaned up the block end with brake cleaner and siliconed it. Might try it again at some point.

If you have any tips, ES6T, I'd appreciate it.

 

Got it! Two things made all the difference:

1) there is no room for error to get the bottom end of the pipe pointed in the exact right direction where it enters the block. The first trick is to practice getting the orientation correct without putting the o-ring back on. Get some good reference points, rotate the pipe away from the underside of the turbo and carefully push into the block making sure you get good feedback on the exact angle of entry.

2) this bit was the "difference maker" - I had observed a fair amount of corrosion on the pipe itself and even some near where the o ring sits. Well I took some 400 grit sandpaper and sanded the inside of the opening to the block until it felt totally smooth.

After having done both of the above I was able to push the pipe in by hand without any mechanical assistance but it did take some doing. You can gauge your progress by whether or not the flange lines up at the top when you rotate the pipe back towards the turbo. When the holes almost line up you are done. You can confirm this by observing that when you let go the pipe doesn't pop back out.

To get the best access possible from the bottom I took out the strut lateral member as well as the engine mount support and both engine mounts. This made things a bit easier.
That is one dumb design...right up there with the vvt as far as I'm concerned!

 

I don't think I've had one take more than 15 minutes. Using a lift helps. I can see it being more difficult laying on your back.